Civil War tea
I know this is a bit of a long shot and obscure question but is anyone aware of any information detailing the kind/style of tea that would have been most popular in America during the American Civil war era? I have done some research and haven’t found much on styles. I would assume black would be the most popular but I haven’t seen much other than some suggestions of orange pekoe and perhaps smoked black (Lapsang Souchong).
Does anyone else have any knowledge or access to research that I am not finding regarding this topic?
I do not know if Tea had regained it’s popularity by the civil war. During the Revolution it became unpatriotic to drink tea. This continued for some time after the revolution. I don’t know if Americans were not drinking coffee during this time. I know the Union Army drank coffee over tea at least what was paid for by the government. Southerners were I think unable to get coffee during the war and made coffee substitutes although I couldn’t tell you what was in them. I think if any tea drinking occurred during the Civil War it was purchased by the individual soldier, not provided by the Army. Some Chinese tea was probably available to people in the North. I could not tell you what blends were common in the 1860s though. Because of the Union blockage of the South, tea of any sort was probably not available to Southerners.
According to this blog, America was getting nearly all their tea from Japan at the time and it was green.
https://www.teabox.com/blog/usa-tea-drinking-country
Thanks for your considerate and insightful replies. I also have since come across this piece of information. It has a cited source though I’m not familiar with the source material itself. https://civilwartalk.com/threads/beverages-during-civil-war-times.75196/
Dr Jim: I did see that entry and I’ve seen other entries talking about black tea. But pretty much in regard to the North or Union soldiers.
This book might have the answers you want too:
https://www.amazon.com/Social-History-Tea-Influence-Community/dp/0983610622
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